The extremely harsh sentence of Ross Ulbricht remains a burning issue wherever people talk about Bitcoin. He stated he wanted to save the world with Silk Road but never imagined someone would use it to sell drugs.
The history of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, closely relates to Bitcoin. That darkweb black market was one of the first to accept Bitcoin as a payment means. In addition, it tainted the pioneering cryptocurrency by linking it to illicit goods, a stigma it is struggling to remove.
Ross Ulbricht went to jail on October 1st, 2013, after which the closure of the original Silk Road occurred. Although the Bitcoin network did not react, the arrest and the disappearance of Silk Road marked the end of an era.
Some years later, the extremely harsh sentence of Ross Ulbricht deeply shook the Bitcoin ecosystem. Besides, it remains a burning issue wherever people talk about the pioneering cryptocurrency.
Ulbricht recently wrote on his official account that he has already spent 10 years in prison. He said that he regretted making that mistake, which ruined his life and caused much pain to others.
The Creator of Silk Road Suffers an Extremely Harsh Sentence
The man will spend two life sentences, plus 40 years, for everything the users of Silk Road did. He received charges for distributing narcotics through the Internet, promoting a criminal enterprise, hacking a computer, smuggling through false identification, and laundering money.
The judge states that the violence inflicted by Ulbricht related to the five murders he allegedly committed. The Court must determine whether the evidence proves those claims, but the official believes he did it to protect his criminal enterprise.
The defenders of Ross point out that Ross will die in prison for creating a website where others sold drugs. They think it is much more severe than the punishment for worse crimes. The other defendants linked to the case received sentences between 8 months and 10 years but most are already free.
Ross Ulbricht Talks about His Case from Prison
In 2021, Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, spoke from a maximum-security prison. Among other things, he said he might use Bitcoin to make a difference but admitted he rushed with the idea of Silk Road. He stated he wanted to save the world with it but never imagined someone would use it to sell drugs.
Ulbricht wrote to the Court that Silk Road should have given people the freedom to make their own decisions. He said it aimed to help them pursue their happiness but that it turned out to cause him deep regret.
Nine years after the arrest of Ross Ulbricht and the closure of the Silk Road, Bitcoin is amid a bearish market. His defenders might make donations and sign a petition to help him as they consider that sentence does not fit his crime.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 19,950 and has accumulated a 3.8% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 28.48 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 382.43 billion, according to CoinGecko.
By Alexander Salazar
